


The Coffee Bean

by weesynthpixie



Category: Supernatural RPF
Genre: AU, Art Student Misha, Barista Jensen, Cockles Week, College AU, Fluff, M/M, coffee shop AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-04-04
Updated: 2014-04-04
Packaged: 2018-01-18 04:18:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,340
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1414840
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/weesynthpixie/pseuds/weesynthpixie
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“Guess who replaced Erik at The Coffee Bean?” Rachel asks the group, picking at a yogurt parfait. </p><p>“Ohhh, who?” Alona asks as well, inching closer to Rachel. “Please tell me it’s a guy and he’s super cute. I need someone to draw for my midterm project while simultaneously objectifying him.”</p><p>They collectively giggle and Misha rolls his eyes. But now he’s curious. His muse has been absent as of late, and he, too, needs to work on his midterm project. Maybe this new guy could help kick start his muse again. It wouldn’t be the first time.</p><p>Rachel licks her lips to rid of the yogurt and smirks. “His name is Jensen. And he’s fucking gorgeous.”</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Coffee Bean

**Author's Note:**

> Happy Cockles Week! Tumblr user [danglingthpider](http://danglingthpider.tumblr.com) requested a College AU with art student!Misha and barista!Jensen. The original prompt can be found [here](http://cockles-week.tumblr.com/post/78525165209/fanfic-prompt-for-cockles-week). Beta'd by the wonderful [Ella](http://deanwinchesterangelfucker.tumblr.com). Enjoy!
> 
> P.S. I kind of wrote Rachel like Meg because I'm completely clueless over Rachel's personality, but I am familiar with Meg's personality so...keep that in mind.

It’s a Wednesday morning during spring semester when Misha hears them. He doesn’t mean to, he generally keeps to himself, but they’re just so _loud._ He notices that it’s four girls; all of them from his ART 110 class. If he recalls correctly, their names are Alona, Gen, Rachel, and Julie. They’re all good artists and deserve to be in the class, but he doesn’t really talk to them.

“Guess who replaced Erik at The Coffee Bean?” Rachel asks the group, picking at a yogurt parfait.

“Ohhh, who?” Alona asks as well, inching closer to Rachel. “Please tell me it’s a guy and he’s super cute. I need someone to draw for my midterm project while simultaneously objectifying him.”

They collectively giggle and Misha rolls his eyes. But now he’s curious. His muse has been absent as of late, and he, too, needs to work on his midterm project. Maybe this new guy could help kick start his muse again. It wouldn’t be the first time.

Rachel licks her lips to rid of the yogurt and smirks. “ _His_ name is Jensen. And he’s fucking gorgeous.”

Everyone’s eyes grow wide at this information, including Misha’s. If his attention wasn’t grabbed before, it certainly is now. Misha sits himself a couple tables away in the Student Union, safely away from recognizable eyes, but still able to hear the group. To his amusement, other groups mainly composed of girls are also gossiping about the new guy at The Coffee Bean.

“How gorgeous are we talking here?” Julie inquires, smiling wide and her eyes shining.

“On a level I can’t even comprehend,” Rachel responds, sighing. “Short, light hair, light eyes, big pouty lips… not to mention being built like a brickhouse stud.”

God, Misha can only begin to imagine the beauty that is this Jensen guy. He prays that Jensen is working during his lunch break so he can go sneak a peek.

“Gen, you’re being suspiciously quiet,” Julie says, turning her attention to the other pretty brunette.

Gen blushes and nearly whispers, “Well, I can’t really be gawking over this guy. I’m taken, remember? Jared would kill me.”

“Whipped,” Rachel accuses playfully, winking at Gen when her blush turns into a scowl.

“Anyway,” Alona begins, “I’m so going over there tomorrow to get his attention. He can’t resist a pretty, petite blonde like me.” Alona flips her hair, bats her eyelashes, and purses her lips while the girls laugh boisterously. Misha really hopes that she isn’t Jensen’s type. He hopes that Jensen’s type is dark-haired, blue-eyed men with a big heart and a slightly unhealthy obsession with drawing men he’s interested in. God, Misha hasn’t even met him yet and he’s already head-over-heels.

Misha checks his phone and sees his next class will be starting in fifteen minutes. Sighing, he heads for his class, thoughts and images of Jensen swirling around in his head the entire time. Today should be interesting.

~

Last time Misha stepped foot into The Coffee Bean was during fall semester. The only reason he did was because he was running late for class and the shop was closer than Starbucks. The latte he ordered wasn’t fantastic at all, so he swore that all future coffee drinks would come from Starbucks, despite the cost. But now Misha’s here for a different reason.

Misha slowly edges into the establishment, his sketchbook and drawing pencils clutched tightly to his chest. There’s a few dozen people inside and chatting rather loudly, but he gives them no mind as his eyes linger on the area for baristas. There’s five people total: two working cash registers and three making the drinks. Misha wonders who Jensen is.

It’s really not that difficult, Misha eventually concludes. He spots him working one of the registers. Jensen’s wearing a dark button-up that leaves nothing to the imagination and a dark apron over it which says _The Coffee Bean_. His hair is short like Rachel said, just enough for someone to run their fingers through it. He’s _tall_ , which Misha is eternally thankful for, and, yeah, those are some pretty nice green eyes.

The smile Jensen gives the blonde girl ordering and her friend is dazzling. The girls are practically falling over each other trying to get his attention, eyelashes batting with feminine giggles. Misha finds it somewhat gross, but he can’t really judge. He’s sure that if he were in their position, he would be doing the same thing. 

“Thanks, Jensen,” the blonde practically coos as she accepts her credit card. Jensen merely winks then motions for the next customer in line. Misha smirks at the blatant dismissal, his optimism rising significantly.

Misha finds a seat near the back, purposely out of sight. It would be extremely awkward if Jensen caught him staring in fascination while simultaneously making quick sketches in his notebook. His chances would be ruined forever if that happened.

Satisfied with his spot, Misha flips open the sketchbook to a fresh, clean page, and then he digs out his drawing pencils. He always likes to start off his sketches with a lighter shade of graphite, so he picks a 3H, sharpened to a fine point, and begins.

Jensen’s movements are well practiced and natural. Misha finds that applying them to paper is a lot easier than he thought. His right hand moves of its own accord as he begins the basic shape of Jensen’s head and hair. He knows he’s staring, far longer than what is socially acceptable, but Jensen is still completely oblivious to this, totally absorbed in his job. Misha is quite thankful for this.

After what feels like an hour but was probably only a few minutes, Misha looks down to his sketchbook. It’s a little messy, eraser shavings still littering the paper, but the sketched out design is pretty good. No details have been added yet, but he’ll get there.

Misha doesn’t want to rush this drawing, though. Sure, if he really wanted to, he could have the sketch complete in a couple of hours, provided Jensen doesn’t go on break or leaves for the day, but that would mean having to leave the coffee shop for good. He would no longer have an excuse to come in and take a table in the back.

A lump sits in his throat at the thought, and he shakes his head. No, he’ll take his time. The project isn’t due for another few weeks, so he’ll take his sweet ass time if he wants to.

~

Misha learns that Jensen has Saturday and Sunday off from The Coffee Bean. The female population on campus is really chatty and they tend not to be secretive about it, especially when it comes to newbie Jensen. This works out perfectly for Misha. The weekend is his time to recuperate from the hard life of college, and Rob likes to take him out to a myriad of dorm parties as well.

The following Monday (damn research project keeping him from drawing Jensen for two days) finds Misha strolling into The Coffee Bean, Starbucks coffee in hand. A few dedicated patrons glare at him for bringing in the competition, but Misha merely smirks and ignores them before walking to his table. For some reason, this table is almost always vacant, like some higher power is making sure Misha can ogle barista-boy Jensen. He snorts and decides that it’s just coincidence instead.

It’s a bit busier than it was on Wednesday, but that’s okay. Jensen is equally busy because of it, and therefore will not have wandering eyes to potentially spot Misha in the crowd. Today, Jensen is working the cash register again, but he’s by himself. Misha sympathizes.

“I knew I’d find you here, Dmitri,” Rachel declares suddenly, sliding into a seat opposite Misha, successfully blocking his view. _What the hell is she doing here?_ He thought for sure he was out of sight when he overheard their conversation. He hopes Rachel will keep her mouth shut.

Misha bristles at the use of his birth name and retorts back, “Don’t call me that.”

Rachel laughs then peers over her shoulder to look at Jensen. Misha pokes his head around her and finds that Jensen is still completely oblivious to everything around him except his job. Rachel’s smile turns wicked before addressing Misha again, “How’s the sketch coming along?”

“I-I’m not drawing him! What makes you think—“

He stops midway through his denial. The evidence is in front of them both. The sketchbook is open to the page where the drawing of Jensen  is. Rachel quirks an eyebrow at the betraying piece of paper, and Misha decidedly feels like pulling his hair out.

“Does he know that he’s the object of your…project?”

Misha glares.

“You know that could be considered non-consensual use of his person for a graded project,” Rachel continues, smiling when Misha only gets tenser.

“Why are you such an asshole?” he asks irritably.

Rachel giggles. “Because that’s who I am, and I also know your little fantasy is a walking, talking heterosexual.”

Misha’s heart drops into his feet at the news. It’s his worse fear, pining after another straight boy. He’s trailed after too many straight boys in his life to follow another. He visibly sags and gives a withering glare to his sketchbook. God, he hopes it’s not true.

Rachel sighs and puts an unwanted hand on his shoulder. “Sorry, Dmitri. I’m sure a gay Jensen look-a-like will pop up eventually.”

“Yeah,” Misha answers dejectedly. He’s overcome with this sudden urge to rip up the drawing, to watch as the tiny pieces flutter around with remnants of what was. But a part of Misha can’t let that happen, feeling this sort of protectiveness over a simple sketch. It isn’t that simple, though. It’s the one thing he can have for himself, even if he can’t have all of Jensen.

Thankfully, Rachel senses his abrupt shift in mood and vacates the table. Misha gives Jensen one last longing look before closing his sketchbook, grabbing his bag, throwing away his empty Starbucks cup, and leaving The Coffee Bean.

~

It takes Misha approximately twenty-four hours before it becomes too much.

His younger brother, Sasha, teased Misha relentlessly about his hopeless crush and his constant staring at the unfinished drawing during that time. Misha knows it’s slightly pitiful, moping around in his dorm room and ignoring most phone calls from friends and family. Rob is somewhat helpful though, giving him awkward pats on the back and bringing him tea from Starbucks.

It’s just not enough. It’s as if there is a knot in his stomach that just won’t come undone, thinking about Jensen’s pretty green eyes and beautiful smile. Misha’s almost positive that Jensen has freckles too, and he’ll never have the opportunity to kiss them.

Totally pathetic.

Rachel’s an asshole. Plain and simple. A part of him wants to believe her, and that Jensen really is straight and nothing else, but another part of him thinks she’s just trying to dampen his spirits so she can go after him. And that undoubtedly sucks if that’s the truth.

He’s completely torn on what to do, so he leaves it be.

Thoughts venturing away from Rachel, he realizes that he should probably start thinking about a backup for his midterm, because he’ll never be able to finish the drawing of Jensen without a feeling of bitterness. He keeps himself from wadding up the sketch like he wanted to the other day and instead produces a fresh sheet. He rustles around in his bag until he finds his drawing pencils, and then poises one near the top of the page.

What should he draw?

His mind pulls a complete blank, like it was doing before Jensen showed up. This is not good. He really doesn’t want to believe it, but it looks like Jensen is the only one to waken his dormant muse. Plus he kind of wants to prove Rachel wrong, if she’s telling the truth.

And that’s how he finds himself in The Coffee Bean once more on Wednesday, back in his spot with his sketchbook open. Yeah, totally fucking pathetic.

It’s not busy at all inside, which makes Misha a little nervous. Getting caught by Jensen is a nightmare he does not wish to live. But with the way there’s nary a person in sight, even in the order line, it looks like it could be a possibility.

He watches closely as Jensen handles a customer, and copies down the lighting and shadows hitting Jensen’s face onto the sketch. He hates to admit it, but it’s starting to look really good. All he needs is for this drawing to be the best one yet. That would be just _peachy._

A little voice in the back of his head is quite optimistic in believing Jensen isn’t 100% straight, because from what he’s heard about Rachel, it’s entirely plausible she made it up for her gain. But what if he’s closeted? Sometimes masculine men like to put on a front or risk losing said masculinity because of the stigma on gay/bisexual men. It’s sad and it’s stupid, in Misha’s opinion, because he still retains a lot of masculinity despite being gay.

He wonders vaguely if Jensen came from some place, like the south, where it was practically beaten into him to be a “man’s man”.

Misha spent so much time thinking and staring that it startles him when his phone buzzes inside his pocket. It’s a text from Rob, asking Misha if he can be scarce tonight, which basically translate to Rob meeting a girl and wanting to bring her back to the dorm. Misha just prays he uses an aerosol can afterwards.

Then he sees the actual time: 1:20.

His next class starts in ten minutes. He hurriedly packs his stuff and takes off, forgetting that he is supposed to go out the door that Jensen is not constantly looking at. What Misha doesn’t know is that a pair of eyes watches him as he zooms off.

~

Thursday and Friday are much the same, and even into Monday and Tuesday. It’s almost a routine now; Misha walking into The Coffee Bean with a Starbucks cup, sitting at his table, taking out his sketchbook and pencils, then proceeding to draw. He finds it quite a feat that he has been able to avoid being seen by the object of his desires.

Sometimes Misha notices certain body language from Jensen. Like when a pretty girl gives him a compliment on his eyes and he blushes so hard his face nearly turns into a tomato. Or when an older student comes in being demanding and Jensen becomes a bit snippy with his shoulders tense. Or even when a friend visits and Jensen practically lights up from the inside out.

Misha feels like he knows so much without ever actually _talking_ to him.

Wednesday finds Misha finished with the sketch. If he does anything more, it’ll look like it was forced and detailed to a point where it’s not even appealing to look at. A wave of sadness washes over Misha at this revelation. He doesn’t want to leave. He doesn’t want to stop looking at Jensen and marveling at his beauty and his shyness and his _everything._

So Misha flips to a new clean page and begins again.

Just a few more days, he reasons.

But next Wednesday is the day that his life will forever be changed.

He starts the day out normal: getting up, getting dressed, heading to his sociology class, deciding to forego Starbucks today, and then arriving at The Coffee Bean afterwards.

As he approaches his table, he notices a slip of paper on top and his favorite Starbucks drink: a black iced tea. He wonders if Rachel has been spying on him just so she can pull a mean prank to get closer to Jensen, he honestly wouldn’t be surprised, but then thinks better of it. Surely, she isn’t _that_ evil.

He’s a bit skeptical when he slides onto the seat and sets his bag on the chair next to him. The note looks ominous, so he avoids it and picks up the tea. It’s perfect and exactly what he needs.

He sips at it a few times before checking up on Jensen. Nothing new; still working like normal and blushing like normal and just being _goddamn sexy_ like normal.

The note, however, is not normal.

Misha’s heart and stomach drop almost painfully as he reads it:

_The way your hand moves as you draw is mesmerizing. The way your tongue sticks out of your mouth slightly as you concentrate is adorable. The way you stare at me causes my heart to beat extra fast._

_Please stop staring and just come talk to me._

_I promise I don’t bite._

_J_

He stares at the note before him. This has got be a joke, a prank, _something._ There’s no way Jensen could see him! He’s confident that he was well-hidden from the baristas. How…?

But Misha doesn’t have time to contemplate on the how because he’s got an eyeful of bulky Jensen in his peripheral. He swallows slowly and looks up, just to be met with too green eyes.

Oh, God.

The piercing gaze doesn’t last long before Jensen looks down to the drawing, the drawing of _him_ working at The Coffee Bean.

Misha is so embarrassed right now.

“I’m sorry,” he blurts out, hands clenched on top of his thighs. He knows he’s biting his lip too hard, but it isn’t entirely registering.

Jensen shakes his head and smiles, reaching for the sketchbook and preceding to flip through it. That perturbs Misha a bit, but he can’t seem to find the fight to protest. His heart is beating so fast that it hurts, and his defense mechanism is rearing to show itself. Basically, he wants to crack a joke and pass it all off as a coincidence or a misunderstanding, yet something is holding him back.

No, it wasn’t a misunderstanding. Misha intentionally wanted to draw Jensen and did a damn good job too.

Jensen seems to think so too as his smile widens and he says softly, “These are really good. I wish I could draw.”

Misha nods. “Yeah, it takes some practice. I’m sure you can do it if you really wanted to.”

He grimaces and then laughs, “No, I’m good. I’ll stick to guitar and acting.”

“You act and play guitar?” Misha asks, curiosity piqued.

“Yeah.” Jensen blushes, and Misha desperately wants to kiss him, but holds back. “My major is theatre because my dad’s an actor too. And I decided I wanted to play guitar and stuck with it, I guess.”

Misha huffs. “I wish I could act.”

“Well hey, maybe I can teach you to act and you can teach me to draw.” Jensen’s smile then turns into a smirk and he says, “Do I have to stare at you every day to learn, though?”

Misha knows he’s blushing, but doesn’t comment, just looks away as he starts to pack up his stuff. He notices that Jensen is mildly confused and unhappy, so Misha reassures him by taking the note, flipping it over, and writing his dorm number on the back. It’s a bit ballsy, yeah, but MIsha has been watching Jensen nonstop for a couple of weeks; he knows he’s spot on with this.

“Come see me when you want to learn.”

He doesn’t know where this sudden boost of self-confidence comes from (maybe it’s all the hateful glares coming from the girls around them), but he enjoys it immensely as he slips the paper into Jensen’s warm palm and walks away.

He feels Jensen’s bewildered stare all the way to his next class, and it’s one of the best feelings ever.

The following Wednesday night, Misha gets a knock on his dorm door. He opens it to reveal Jensen sans The Coffee Bean apron and a dazzling smile.

Yeah, Wednesday has just become his favorite day of the week.


End file.
